Resurrecting past champions through cloning?

“Sham on the
outside. Sham getting a head in front…They’re on the backstretch. It’s almost a
match race now. Secretariat’s on the inside by a head. Sham is on the outside…They’ve
opened 10 lengths…Secretariat now taking the lead. He’s got it by about a
length and a half…The lead is increasing. It’s 3. 3 ½… He is moving like a
tremendous machine!... Secretariat by 12. Secretariat by 14 lengths on the turn…Here
comes Secretariat to the wire! Unbelievable! An amazing performance!”

Can you
imagine hearing those words in person? Or hearing those words or something
similar again? It sounds farfetched, but if two Texas horsemen have their way,
then the possibility is even more probable than what you might think. Jason
Abraham and Gregg Veneklasen brought a lawsuit against the American Quarter
Horse Association when that organization refused to register cloned horses and
their offspring. The AQHA’s refusal to do so, the men claim, violates antitrust
law. Should the judge rule in favor of the two Texas horsemen, the decision
could pave the way for clones to compete in sanctioned quarter horse races at
numerous tracks across the country.

In many
cases, the clone would be an exact duplicate of a past champion. Multiple
graded stakes winner and two-time world champion Tailor Fit, considered by many
to be Quarter Horse royalty, already has a copy. The young duplicate has aptly
been named Pure Tailor Fit. Proponents for cloning argue that the procedure
would allow for the reintroduction of the genes of past champions who are
deceased or were unable to breed and would enable breeders to reduce disease by
eradicating detrimental genes. Conversely, opponents argue that cloning would
concentrate the gene pool and undermine efforts to improve the breed.

Moral issues
aside (my granny always said that it wasn’t polite to talk about religion or
politics), allowing clones to enter the starting gate of sanctioned races,
regardless of breed, is a step in the wrong direction. Breeding is a tricky
business, and it’s impossible to get the same horse twice (just ask Roy and
Gretchen Jackson of Lael Stable). I don’t think for one minute that cloning
would change that fact. Take identical human twins for example. It has long
been thought that identical twins have identical genetic profiles, but new
research shows that while identical twins have very similar genes, they are not
identical. Often differences are caused by environmental factors, but it has
now been shown that changes can also occur due to epigenetic factors, or the chemical
markers that attach to and affect how genes are expressed.

In order to
clone horses, genetic information is transplanted from a cell in a donor animal
to an unfertilized egg whose genetic information has either been destroyed or
removed. The egg is then implanted into a surrogate mare, where it develops
into a viable foal. It is not, however, a fool-proof method. Cloned animals
have shown growth defects, and the reason for these defects is not yet known.
Researchers believe it to be a result of in-vitro culture conditions or changes
in chromatin in the nucleus, but they have admitted that further research would
be needed in order to fully understand the reasons why cloning went wrong in
cases such as that.

Even with cloning,
you still cannot know for certain exactly what you’re going to get. You can use
the DNA of past champions and artificially select for a “healthier” specimen,
but in the end, you cannot make a horse anything other than what it will be.
You cannot reproduce temperament, heart, or any other intangible through
science. It just simply is not possible. Initially, cloning may strengthen the
breed by re-introducing the genes of champions that could not reproduce, but
ultimately cloning would undermine the breed when breeders continually in-breed
to the same horses, as they do today.

Regardless
of the judge’s decision in the Texas case, clones will not be seen in the
thoroughbred racing industry anytime soon. Current Jockey Club rules mandate
that foals have to be the result of a live cover and bar embryo transfer or
artificial insemination. The rules governing the AQHA are different, however;
they approved AI in the 1960s and embryo transfers in the 1980s.

I sincerely
hope that the Jockey Club’s current rules are not amended and that the Texas
judge rules in favor of the AQHA. There can only be one Secretariat, and that
simple fact is one of the very reasons why he is so incredibly special. Cloning
is not breeding. Even if it cannot exactly reproduce champions of years past,
it does take out a lot of the guesswork. In doing so, it also takes out the
variety, the mystery, and the excitement. When I review the past performances
of a maiden race for 2-year olds, part of the excitement is in not knowing
which will possibly become a champion and which will just be average. I don’t
want a past performance filled with the clones of the greats because there is
no mystery there. It might be exciting to see “Secretariat” race in person, but
deep down, I know it would never be the same because even if that horse is an
exact replica of Secretariat on the genetic level, he will never actually be
Secretariat.

EP, I'm really condensing this, but I think he was saying, in his post's (Mr.Toni's posts) from 34 days ago that the problem with cloning, which he mentions being left to the geneticists and experts in that area(very paraphrased by me) is that it does not improve the breed.He names specifically Easy Goer and Sadler's Wells-not improving from them. If I have this wrong, my apologies, but he might be saying that better farming(this could be about raising the horses or their care?) and muscular spectometry,and developing the muscles and bones need to be improved. No idea about the reference to bulldogs. Antonio Uccelli(although he did spell it uccellini), who Mr.Toni references, and he may be quoting him, is a scientist who has studied "Phenotypic and functional analysis of T cells homing into the cerebrospinal fluid of subjects with inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system" But, EP, this is just my best guess.

The AQHA is going to continue to fight this new ruling, so it's not over yet. However, one of the arguments used toward the ruling was that the AQHA has allowed horses conceived through other than live covers to be registered (artificial insemination) for years. That practice is not allowed in thoroughbred breeding, therefore it cannot be used as an argument for cloning/registration of thoroughbreds. As long as the live cover rule is in place, thoroughbred breeding should remain above this fray.

I think Dressage makes a point. I did some research on this in April. I believe only 5% of clone attempts make it past the embryo stage, so quite frankly we as humans are far from mastering the complex project of cloning. I won't go into religoun or if it is humane, but I'd much rather NOT allow cloning. There is only one Secretariat. I agree completely with TV's post. THese guys are taking a shortcut in breeding, which is unfair.

There are so many genetic defects and problems when you clone an animal. We do not have the technology or knowledge to safely clone at this point- perhaps in the future, but not now. Once (if ever) cloning is perfectly, then the clones would have little impact on the racetrack as the nurturing of each horse differs. Though they could make an impact in the breeding shed

Proponents have tried to argue that the personality "flows through" to the clone, but I don't believe that, personally. When it comes to nature vs. nurture, there is no clear cut division as both factors greatly, and I would argue equally, contribute to how a person, horse, etc. turns out. There is nothing positive about cloning in this particular situation. There are too many unwanted and uncared for animals in this world, and scientists want to start cloning specific animals simply because they were exceptional specimens? It's selfish and nonsensical.

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Despite growing up in a non-horse racing state, Ashley has
been a fan of the sport since a young age. Her love for horse racing was
fostered through the kids’ book series Thoroughbred
by Joanna Campbell, and it was her love of reading and horses that led her to
educate herself on the ins and outs of the sport. Since becoming actively
involved in the industry just a few short years ago, Ashley has had the
opportunity to meet many important players in the industry, attend the Eclipse
Awards, see personal favorite Mucho Macho Man race twice in person, and get to
personally meet and befriend many of the fantastic fans and horsemen involved
in the sport.

Before joining Horse Racing Nation, Ashley created her own
blog Wired with Ashley Paige. The
idea to venture into the world of blogging came to her when she realized that
she had much to say about horse racing and no one to say it to at the time. Ashley began her time with Horse Racing Nation blogging as The Florida Filly. Using that moniker, she mainly covered racing in South Florida but also blogged about nationwide racing, industry issues, and from time to time offered her opinion on how various changes could be beneficial to the industry as a whole. A move north to New Hampshire began both a new chapter in both Ashley's personal life and professional life. She currently pens the new From Coast to Coast blog for HRN, which is simply a revamped version of The Florida Filly. Don't let the new look and name change fool you, though. Ashley still brings to the table the same great coverage as From Coast to Coast as she did for The Florida Filly. Ashley also participates as a voter in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Polls.

An alumni of Macon State College, Ashley is from Central
Georgia but is currently living in New Hampshire with her husband Chris and their two sons Charlie and Michael. A stay-at-home mom, Ashley juggles parenting with blogging and her other passions. Aside from horse racing, Ashley is a fervent football fan, enjoys reading and studying history, and hopes to someday author a historical work covering the Tudor
period as well as biographies of horse racing’s stars, equine and human alike.